Don't Leave the Lodge
by Mico-J-Ken
Summary: Sam and Dean are left alone in Alaska while their dad accompanies Bobby on a hunt. So Dean thinks its a good idea to relax and cut loos with a classmate who invited them to his fathers lodge with his friends. He should have listened to Sammy. When are their lives ever not filled with horror.


Don't Leave the Lodge

**Life is a pain. Thanks to it I haven't been able to focus on my writing lately. But now I'm back with a new writing scheduled and ready to get back into the game. I've always wanted to write about the boys on a hunt while they were in high school but I'm also a hardcore Destiel shipper so I had to add Cas and everyone else and this was the end result.**  
**I hope you like it.**  
**I don't own anything, Supernatural and its characters belong to the CW and where created by Eric Kripke.**  
**Please enjoy.**

"C'mon man." Sam groaned as the Impala crawled up the mountain road. "Seriously, why are we here?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked back. "I would think it would be obvious, little brother."

"Dad has been gone for a month now." Sam rolled his shoulders, letting his eyes close in exasperation. "He left us here while he went off to help Bobby with a hunt but you seem to think that it's a good idea to go spend a weekend hanging out at some douche bag novelist's lodge?"

"What's wrong with that?" Dean raised his shoulder in askance. "Castiel invited us."

"And that's the other thing, you've only known Castiel for two weeks, but he wants us to come to his lodge party? And his brother's are going to be there with their girlfriends plus others. We don't know these people, but you're comfortable enough to be alone with them in the woods? What are we doing here, Dean?"

"Having some fun." Dean raised his brow like it should be plain as day. "We're having some fun. Doing what dumb teens do. Go out to a cabin in the middle of the woods and drink, party, maybe get laid."

"You really think these girls will want to sleep with you, their already dating someone. Plus that sounds like the plot to a B rated horror movie."

"Or a good time."

"Dean-"

"Sam," Dean sighed. "Look, you're right, dad has been gone for a month and I don't think he's coming back anytime soon. And he won't let us leave Alaska. So let's have a little fun till he gets back. And Cas is a cool guy. This will be fun, don't worry."

"Famous last words in every horror story."

"C'mon, Sammy." Dean snorted opening his door and stepping out only to pop his head back through. "And besides, who said I was after any of the girls."

Sam pressed his lips into a tight line and did the same going to the trunk to grab their duffles.

"Cas." Dean called walking up the row of parking spaces to the yellow bug. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Of course, Dean." Cas smiled shouldering his backpack. "Um, you remember Charlie and Dorothy."

"Of course." Dean nodded giving his best debonair smile. "Ladies, how are you this evening."

"Not interested in a threesome." Dorothy answered.

"Dot." Charlie growled.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Dean assured furrowing his brow and placing a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "And I'm wounded you would think so little of me."

"Well we weren't expecting Cas to bring strays." Dorothy huffed glancing at Cas.

"Dorothy," Cas sighed, rolling his eyes. "This is Dean Winchester, he is a purveyor of lore old movies and vintage cars. Dean, this is Dorothy, a connoisseur of action movies, and fantasy/sci-fi books, and also vintage cars. It seems you two have something in common, why don't you go on and talk about that."

Dorothy glared at him, but caught Sam's movements over Dean's shoulder and seeing the Impala.

"That yours?" She asked.

"Technically it's my dad's." Dean shrugged. "But he's thinking about getting a new car and letting me have this one."

"Hmm." Dorothy hummed.

"Sam," Cas called meeting the other brother with a smile. "We haven't formally met yet, I'm Castiel Novak."

"Yeah, Dean's told me about you." Sam nodded taking Cas's hand and giving it a friendly shake.

"You as well." Cas smiled. "All good things."

"I find that hard to believe." Sam chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Dean called over his shoulders.

"I'm sure." Sam rolled his eyes, ever the king of sass.

They all looked over their shoulders as they heard another car door slam. A short, smiley girl with dark thick hair and soul brown eyes was shouldering her own duffle and walking up to them. Charlie instantly bye passed everyone and went to embrace her in a tight hug.

"Eileen." Charlie cried. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I talked Crystal into letting me go." Eileen, as she was called, said while moving her hands in complicated, yet simple gestures. Her speech sounded halted and muted, which gave the brothers a clue as to what the hand gestures meant.

"I'm glad you could make it." Cas smiled.

"Me to." She smiled, her hand forming so only her thumb and pinky stood and tapping her chest with her thumb.

"Eileen, this is Dean and Sam Winchester." Cas told her gesturing to the brothers.

"Hey there." Dean smiled giving a small wave.

"Hi." Sam nodded moving his hand so it looked like he was trying to salute her.

"You know how to sign?" She asked him her brow raised, hands moving as such.

"Not really." Sam shrugged. "I just know a few things, like thanks, hi, bye. Sorry."

"Most people don't know any." She smiled with her own shrug. "Appreciate the try."

Sam smiled sheepishly and nodded making his brother laugh.

"So, Cas tells me," Charlie started stepping forward, back to the brothers, with a sheepish smile. "That you've read all the Harry Potter books."

"Um, yeah." Sam nodded, wondering if this was a fan talk or a bullying talk.

"Who's your favorite character?" she asked, Cas even perked up at the question.

"Un, well I really like Luna Lovegood and Remus Lupin." Sam shrugged.

"Yes." Charlie smiled. "I love Luna, and Remus never got the recognition he deserved."

"Right." Sam smiled.

"Though, my favorite character is definitely Hermione."

"She is the true hero of the story." Sam nodded in agreement.

"I like him." Charlie said to Cas.

"Me to." Eileen smiled. "My favorite is Snape. He was so brave, and vicious."

"Yeah, I didn't see his heroism coming." Sam laughed. "It was a bit of a pleasant shock."

"Indeed." Cas smiled back. "I feel like this is going to be a fun weekend filled with nerdy conversations, good music and good food."

"Sounds like fun." Dean said joining the conversation with Dorothy.

"Alright, so my brothers and Kahli are already up at the lodge, so let's start hiking so we can get this party started." Cas nodded leading the way.

The hike up the mountain wasn't steep, thankfully, but would still take about twenty-five minutes till they got to the lodge.

Thankfully they had a lot to talk about to ignore the cold and hurry the walk along.

"Fan of the classics." Charlie smirked bumping Dean's shoulder with hers. "I have the perfect playlist for tonight then, all eighties rock, with just a little bit of modern and pop."

"As long as it's not that sappy 'he broke my heart' crap." Dean snorted.

"Oh Charlie's good at stuff like this." Cas smirked. "We'll be well supplied with good music all weekend."

"And fun things to do," Charlie cocked her head bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I've got risk, cards against humanity and a ouija board."

Sam's eyes widened and he glanced to Dean who gave him a warning glare.

"That sounds fun." Cas shrugged though seemed tense. "Though my brothers are not gonna like it. Maybe we shouldn't play with that."

"I agree." Dorothy sighed. "I mean, really, a ouija board? Not only is it ridiculous and fake, but even if it was real it's like asking for evil spirits to come for us."

"She's got a point." Dean shrugged. "I mean that's how it happens in all the scary movies."

"Those are movies." Charlie snorted. "And besides it's not for the dark forces," she said this in a spooky woo-woo voice, waving her fingers in a spell casty way. "It's for the thrills of being a dumb teen."

"Or getting killed." Sam murmured.

"I'm with Sam." Eileen signed as she spoke. "It sounds dumb."

"Killjoys." Charlie huffed then smiled. "So, Sam, Dean." She started again. "Tell us a little more about yourselves. Where are you from, what do your parents do for a living? What do you do for fun?"

"Oh um," Sam scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Our dad is a mechanic." Dean told her. "And our mom, she- she passed away. Fourteen years ago."

"Oh." Charlie gasped, letting her eyes drop. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, it's not that." Sam shook his head holding up his hand in understanding. "We've a, well it's not something that you can just get over."

"But it was a long time ago." Dean shrugged.

"So what do you do for fun?" Cas asked moving away from the subject.

"I mostly like music and old movies." Dean shrugged. "Sam?"

"Well, I read." Sam offered. "A lot."

"What do you like to read?" Dorothy asked.

"Um, fiction, lore, history." he shrugged. "Stuff like that."

"Really." Charlie smiled, still blushing over her possible hurtful question. "Well I mean I guessed the fiction bit, Harry Potter and all that. But you like reading about lore?"

"Yeah, well Dean reads it too." Sam smiled looking at his brother with a teasing glint in his eyes. "He'll never tell you, but his favorite character is Sirius Black."

"Hey, dude c'mon." Dean groaned.

"Nothing to be ashamed of." Cas assured. "Most of us here are nerds. My dad is an even bigger nerd than all of us put together. He has this huge library at the lodge filled with fiction books."

"Sounds like something Sammy should check out." he snorted. "I'll just stick with you guys. We can talk about good music and classic shows and movies all weekend."

"Sounds like fun." Cas smiled back.

Sam watched the exchange between Dean and Cas and was barely able to cover up his chuckle with a cough.

Anything with dark hair and blue eyes. He laughed inwardly.

"We're here." Charlie smiled as the lodge came into view. "Now it's just a few minutes to unpack and set up then it's party time."

"This place is really out of the way." Dean noted as they stepped through the gate. "Your parents must not like people."

"We don't really know our mom. This place is more for dad than anything else." Cas shrugged. "Before he met mom, he had a small cabin out here. He used it in the early days of his writing. It's still out here, just a ten minute hike from the lodge. He still uses it sometimes. After us kids were born, he had the lodge built so it was a fun place for us. We used to come up here every summer and christmas with him when we were younger. Now it just serves as a place for us to bring our friends on the weekend. Dad will come up here sometimes and use the cabin for writing, but for the most part he stays in town. And there it is, Lodge Edlund."

Sam and Dean stared up at it, their mouths hanging open.

"This isn't a lodge," Dean told Sam in a hushed tone. "This is a mansion in the snow."

"Right." Sam choked.

The Lodge was, in fact, huge. The main part was three stories, and then there were two one story attachments off to either side. The whole thing was made out of log which wasn't much of a surprise. It also had a wrap around porch laden with chairs and long couches surrounding little fire pits. It looked like something out of a movie or a book.

Sam cocked his head.

"This seems familiar." he said aloud. "Isn't this the same place from your dad's book, the one about the kids being hunted at the abandoned ski lodge."

"Good imagination." Cas smiled looking up to the lodge. "Yeah, dad had it modeled after the lodge in his book."

"Wasn't the monster in that book an aswang?"

"Yeah, a Philipin mythos monster." Cas nodded. "But don't worry, there are no monsters up here none that I've seen anyway."

With that and a laugh from the girls, Cas and the other headed inside. But Dean and Sam stayed put, trading knowing glances and looking around for anything key. Not seeing anything they confirmed with each other without words and followed.

Inside the lodge was just as impressive as it was outside. There was modern art everywhere for decoration, which in Dean's opinion was weird. And framed photos of the area on all the walls. It was a space-ish, open floor plan. Even the staircase and upper floors where open. The brothers assumed that the only rooms that were closed off were the bathrooms and bedrooms. There was a lounge with a large open fireplace like you see in ski lodges. A kitchen with all the newest state of the art appliances. A living room with another fireplace built into the wall and a massive flat screen mounted above the mantle. The other area turned out to be a billiard room with a pool table, dart boards and a bar. And there was even a basement.

"Geeze, your dad must be a pretty damn good writer." Dean whistled.

"Well most of his books are best sellers." Cas smiled then turned to his brothers who were sitting on couches with a girl. "Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. I told you about them the other day."

"So your Cassie's strays." The one Cas pointed out as Gabriel smiled at them. "The names Gabriel, and this ravishing beauty beside me is my girlfriend Kahli."

"I hate sweet talk and you know it." the girl said, she seemed to be all righteous fury and fire making Dean smile.

"How did you meet our brother again?" The one named Michael asked, scrutinizing the brothers.

"We met in European history." Dean shrugged. "I made some snarky remarks about the celtic gods and made Cas laugh. Started talking and now we're buddies."

Cas smiled and chuckled remembering the stupid remark about how the old gods where all carniverous blood thirsty trees.

"And you Sam?" Michael asked.

"Oh where I go, Sam goes." Dean answered nodding to his brother. "I promised my dad I'd look after him while he was away. Besides, after being cooped up with his books I figured he could use a break, hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Michael shook his head, yet his eyes contradicted his words.

"And I'm, Lucifer." the boy stood taking Sam's hand exuding a bravado that put the brothers off.

"Nice to meet you." Sam nodded not really meaning it and already knowing this guy was not good news.

"Nice to meet you all." Dean nodded.

"Right, so I'm gonna show the boys their rooms." Cas informed hoping to ease the tension. "C'mon guys."

"Rooms?" Dean mouthed to his brother with a smile.

"We can share if there isn't room." Sam told Cas much to Dean's charghin. "It just seems like there are a lot of people here. So we don't mind sharing."

"Oh don't worry about that." Cas shook his head. "This place was built in mind for our massive family." At the confusion on the brother's face, Cas continued to explain. "My dad is the writer, but the money comes from my mom's side. She's a wealthy business woman or something like that. She wanted a lot of kids. At first my dad was okay with that, but after my youngest brother was born he refused and now we don't see her anymore. Still she sends checks and stuff along with messages through email and texting, reminding us that we need to aim high in this world as proud children of the Novack family. Kind of silly huh."

"I thought your dad's last name was Novak?" Dean said narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"No, that's my mom's name." Cas rolled his shoulders. "His last name is Shurley, but when men marry into the family it's tradition for them to take my family's last name. Mom had this place built so we could come with dad while he was on his writing kicks, and so we had a place to be with the rest of the family at Christmas. Only mine and my siblings rooms are permanent. The rest of them were meant for more siblings, or guests. The second and third floors are all bathrooms and bedrooms."

"Huh." Sam hummed looking at his awed brother.

"Wow your mom sounds like a piece." Dean snorted.

"Dean!" Sam accosted.

"No he's right." Cas sighed.

"How many siblings do you have?" Dean asked.

"Well there's my brothers and me, then they're is the youngest two Samandriel and Hael. Then my older sisters Hana and Anna and my other brother who is roughly around my age, Balthazar."

"Jeeze, big family." Dean snorted.

"Must have been crazy." Sam commented not even able to fathom having more than Dean.

"A bit, most of us aren't close." Cas shrugged. "Anna and Hanna are at college, Balthazar spends most of his time anywhere but with the family. And Hael and Samandriel are at home getting ready for finals. The only reason why Lucifer is here is to get away from dad, Gabriel wants to be with Kahli, and Michael wants some peace and quiet. They're not here to hang out with me and the others, not really."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Dean said looking truly sad, siblings that don't get along or had any kind of familial bond never made sense to him.

"It's fine, I've got my friends, and in the end they make me happy so it's all good. Here we are." Cas smiled opening one of the doors. "Sam you can take this room, and Dean," Cas went to the closet opening it and walking in. Confused the brothers followed finding that the closet was a walk in with a door reaching into a bathroom. They went in only to follow Cas through another door, and into another bedroom. "You can sleep in this one."

"What's with the ensuite connection?" Dean asked dropping his duffle onto the bed.

"These used to be Micheal and Lucifer's rooms." Cas shrugged.

"Won't they mind if we're using them?" Sam asked.

"No." Cas snorted. "They've grown a bit distant in the last few years. They moved all their stuff one floor up and in opposite corners."

"Huh." Dean let the corners of his lips drop in a thoughtful frown.

"So go ahead and get settled, and I'll see you downstairs." Cas told them heading for the door. "I think we're gonna play risk first."

Dean waited till Cas shut the door before he rounded on his brother.

"Dude, this is so awesome." he smiled. "I mean our own rooms, and this mansion. This is freaking insane."

"Yeah, I guess." Sam said looking out the window.

"Oh c'mon, can't you just let yourself go and relax?" Dean begged. "Just for this weekend."

"Dean, this place in in one of Cas dad's books." Sam told him reaching into this bag and pulling out 'Frozen Flesh' by Carver Edlund. "In it a bunch of kids come out here to a lodge and get hunted one by one and killed by an aswang."

"So?"

"So, ever since we got up here I've been feeling like something is watching us."

"And you think it's an aswang?"

"Maybe."

"Okay, so how do you kill an awang."

"Not easily. In the book everyone dies."

"Oh that's comforting."

"But in lore it says you need to bless a weapon, a specific one with spices then plunge it into the monster's heart pull them to Earth and finish it."

"Pull them to Earth?"

"Yeah, they can fly."

"Oh that's just great."

"Dean, we don't have anything like that here. If there is an aswang out then we're screwed."

"But you and I did a preliminary search and saw nothing. Plus I'm not feeling like I'm being watched and you know I have damn good instincts."

"Yeah." Sam sighed looking back to the window. "Still, we should be careful while we're out here."

Dean snorted turning back to his duffle.

"No disagreement there." he agreed shucking his parka. "Go get your stuff settled, let's head downstairs and have a little bit of fun."

Sam was still watching the window but decided to do as his brother said and went back through the closet.

Maybe if he had stayed at the window just a few seconds more, he would have seen the shadow move in the trees.

"Okay." Gabriel smiled at everyone directing them to a table with candles and a board. "First things first. Let's start this off like every good horror movie. Let's talk to some spirits."

"Oh god really?" Lucifer groaned glaring at the ouija board. "You believe in this crap."

"Nah." Gabriel snorted. "But it's stupid and fun."

"No, it's sacreligious." Micheal ticked.

"If you don't like it then you can go watch a movie or play a game somewhere else. So who wants to contact the other side?"

"I'm in." Charlie smiled.

"I don't really think it will work, but I'll contribute." Cas shrugged, though there was strain to his voice and a tightness in his shoulders.

"Seriously this is stupid." Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen ghosts can't do anything."

"Unless you've seen poultrygeist." Sam offered trying to keep them from doing something stupid.

"It will be fine." Gabriel snorted.

"OH GOD!" Eileen screamed.

They all looked and found something incredible.

"Son of a bitch." Dean hissed.

He and Sam both tensed up as they watched with the others.

The pointer on the board started moving.

"Someone got a pen." Gabriel asked waving his hand vigorously.

Instantly Charlie pulled out her notebook and pen.

"L, E, A, V, E, T, H, E, B, O, A, R, D, A, L, O, N, E." She said each letter as the pointer showed it. "Leave the board alone."

"And with that," Eileen started signing. "I say we put it away, or burn it."

"Oh please." Dorothy huffed, stomping over and shoving it into the box. "I bet it was some stupid magnet or tech thing just to make the board more realistic."

"Yeah, still." Gabriel snorted- though, the brothers saw his own shoulders tense and a quick glare he threw in Micheal's direction. "Let's just stuff that somewhere where we will never see it again."

"We'll do it." Sam offered. "Is there a closet or something you want it in?"

"Oh um," Cas still looked a bit flustered from the pointer's activities. "Yeah, over there." He pointed to the hall. "The first door on the right is a linen closet. Just put it there for now."

"Sure thing." Dean smiled hurrying to snatch the box from Dorothy.

He and Sam rushed off to the hall away from everyone but paused just as they got around the corner.

"Did you bring the-" Dean didn't even have a chance to finish.

"Yeah." Sam said pulling out the EMF reader. He switched it on and held it to the ouija board, but nothing happened.

"No way," Dean shook his head his lip turning up at the corner in a confused grin. "We saw this thing move on it's own."

"Maybe Dorothy was right." Sam offered. "Maybe it's some new gimik the company is trying out. Get people more interested in this game or something."

"You think?" Dean asked tilting his head.

"Either that or ghost found a way to hide themselves better." Sam shrugged, his brows still furrowed in thought.

"Well that's not comforting, but anyway." Dean sighed, shoving the board between the sheets in the closet. "This thing isn't giving off any sort of bad vibes at the moment, so I guess we're okay, at least for now."

"Fine." Sam sighes. "But if anything else happens we need to get everyone off this mountain, even if that means burning the whole damn thing to the ground."

"A bit much, but if it gets the job done." Dean shrugged then remembered, "He did you see the way Gabriel glared at Micheal after the board moved?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"That was weird right?"

"I'm sure it was just some brother squabbling thing, like you and I do."

"We do not squabble."

Sam raised his brow in a way that clearly said 'your doing now'.

"Shut up." Dean ticked making Sam snort.

"So creepy spirit board is out," Charlie announced sitting at the large table. "So how about we play clue."

"Sounds way better." Sam agreed.

"I'll get the booze." Gabriel called.

"I'll make sure you don't drop it." Kahli huffed.

"I find this game tedious." Micheal sighed walking past them. "I'll be in my room reading."

The brothers watched him go while everyone else just carried on.

"Your brother isn't very social is he?" Dean asked Castiel.

"Um," Cas looked after Michael. "Well he really only comes out here with us to make sure we don't burn down the place."

"And to get away from mom's texts." Gabriel snorted as he came back with a couple of bottles of whiskey, a six pack of IPAs and two two lieters of Coke and Dr. Pepper.

"Gabe." Cas hushed.

"Oh c'mon Cas," Lucifer snickered. "You gonna just skirt around the fact that we all hate our mother."

"Lucifer." Cas warned. "Our guests don't need to hear this."

"Oh but they're gonna be with us all weekend." Lucifer smiled. "They'll hear it at some point."

"Hear what?" Dean asked only to get his foot stomped on by Sam. "OW!"

"Oh just that our mother Naomi is a controlling bitch." Lucifer supplied with a shrug as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"She just wants the best for us." Cas threw in. "She just has a harsh way of going about it."

"Super religious." Gabriel snorted.

"Has all our lives planned out step by step." Lucifer sighed popping each p.

"We're from a powerful family." Cas said closing his eyes in practiced exhaustion. "We have heavy responsibilities to that and great expectations."

"Says the future doctor." Gabe chuckles. "C'mon Cas, your the most driven out of all of us. Michael just wants to join the army, Lucifer wants to open a club just brimming with sin. And I just want to party and live life to the fullest, maybe open a bar or work with Lucy in his club-"

"Not happening." Lucifer cut in.

"The rest of our siblings want to work in shops or raise families. Or fuck off in Balz case. You're the only one who is pressuring a stable job." Gabe continued ignoring Lucifer. "And she still harps on you for your grades and who you hang out with, oh and according to her, a doctor isn't good enough. She is awful."

"This is not what we're here for." Cas sighed patting the game board. "We're here for fun and relaxation. So let's just not dwell on our family drama. Let's just play the game, I call being Mr. Green."

"Then I call Mrs. Scarlet." Dean smiled.

Cas smiled back and took a long gulp of the Coke and Jack Gabe poured into his tumbler.

They played five rounds and drank plenty of whiskey, mixed drinks and beer.

By the end of the last round they were teetering in their seats and laughing like a bunch of loons.

"It was most definitely Mrs. Peacock in the lounge with the lead pipe." Sam said with as much steady confidence as his drunken state could allow.

"You sure?" Eileen drawled.

They were leaning really close together. They're noses nearly touching. Sam was smiling in a silly bubbly way while Eileen just grinned with nothing but confidence. Making Gabriel snort and Dean chuckle.

"Positive." Sam's smile took on a more querked tone.

"Let's see what the cards say." She querked, tilting her head and pulling out the evidence envelope. She glanced at them- even though that wasn't what she was supposed to do- chuckled in a tipsy way laying down the cards face up. "Looks like we have a detective in our future."

"Way to go Sammy." Dean cheered, holding his beer aloft.

"That is the third time in a row that you've gotten it." Charlie huffed goodnaturedly throwing up her hands. "I have a system for this game, that always guarantees my win, and you've thwarted it every time. How are you doing that?"

"Simple reasoning and deduction." Sam shrugged. "By watching people with their guesses I can make a good assumption on what the other people have shown them."

"But they could keep using the same weapon or room even though someone has proven them wrong." Dorothy accused narrowing her eyes.

"That's true," Sam nodded, pulling the corners of his mouth down in thought. "But that's why I wait and deduce. Eventually they'll either change their accusations or they'll keep it. Sometimes they beat me to it, other times I beat them. It's a fifty-fifty plan."

"So you let others do all the hard work for you." Lucifer hissed glaring at Sam.

"Oh like you don't use Cas to do your homework." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"You said that was some extra work to boost my GPA." Cas exclaimed rounding on his brother.

"It seems, Castiel," Kahli hummed leaning back in her chair. "That you got duped."

"Still, his trick is a bit underhanded and petty." Lucifer accused.

"But it works." Eileen cheeked.

"If only we could get you to use that with poker." Dean snorted taking a swig.

"You play poker?" Kahli wondered turning her stoic gaze to Dean.

"Yeah, well sometimes when money is tight, I'll go out and play." Dean shrugged. "Our dad goes on these long hunting trips and leaves us with some money, and sometimes we blow through it. So gotta survive somehow."

"Your dad just leaves you alone?" Cas asked looking concerned.

"We're old enough to take care of ourselves." Sam interjected. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, besides, we'd rather have this bit of freedom." Dean smiled. "Means that we can what we want within reason."

"Sounds depraved." Lucifer ticked.

"Sounds awesome." Gabriel laughed.

"For the most part it's pretty boring." Sam shrugged. "Hence tons of reading."

"Yeah maybe for you." Dean snorted. "I spend my days watching cool old movies and working on the Impala."

"Is that what you plan to do in the future?" Cas asked looking to the eldest brother. "Be a mechanic like your father."

"That or a fireman." Dean quirked. "That's the dream right there. Or maybe I'd like to own a bar. Either one sounds good really."

"What about you Sam?" Eileen asked listing her head in the youngers direction. "Would you open up a shop or something, since you like reading?"

"Oh, um…" Sam sat back looking up at the ceiling and taking a thoughtful swig. "I thought about being a writer for a little while, but I don't have the imagination for that, so I was thinking of going into law."

"Like a lawyer?" she cocked her head, her brow bunching together in a cute way.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"You never told me that." Dean hummed eyeing his brother.

"Well you wouldn't want to hear it." Sam scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, and what makes you think that?"

"Because you won't think I should." Sam coughed getting more and more uncomfortable with all the attention on him. "Or at least, you'd agree with dad."

"And what would dad say?"

"That I can't." Sam finally gave up looking chill, he turned on his best bitch face, his lips thinning into a line. "He'd say that I have to go into the family business."

"And what's wrong with that?" Dean asked jerking head head back, and throwing his arms out in front of him. "What we do is pretty damn important."

"And I agree." Sam nodded. "But, it's not what I want for the rest of my life."

"But sitting in a courtroom defending some shmuck, that's what you want?"

"I want to help people."

"We do help people."

"I want to help in a different way."

"Wow." Gabriel laughed, mostly hoping to break this up before it becomes something a bit more aggressive. "Your dad sounds like our mom."

"Nah." Dean shook his head. "He's overprotective is all."

"Yeah right to the point where he forgets we are his sons and not soldiers." Sam snorted.

"Sam." Dean sighed.

"Okay." Charlie called clapping her hands together. "Whos up for cards against humanity."

"Actually," Lucifer began, leaning forward and finishing off his whiskey. "I'm heading to bed."

"Bed actually sounds great." Gabriel smirked wiggling his brow at his girlfriend. "If you know what I mean."

"I do, lucky me." Kahli deadpanned.

"I'm actually also heading to bed." Cas said rubbing his face. "I will see you all tomorrow."

With that they left, leaving the brothers with the girls.

"You gonna bail on us too?" Dean asked with a teasing smirk.

"Actually," Dorothy cocked her head grabbing the bottle. "I challenge you to a drinking contest."

"Oh really?" Dean's smirk grew as he leaned closer.

"Oh great." Sam shook his head.

"Dot-"

"Just want to see what his tolerance is like." Dorothy smirked back pouring their shots. "Go until the other's head hits the table."

"Your on."

"Can I join?" Eileen asked, her cocky smirk back. "I'm pretty sure I could drink you under the table."

"Oh bring it." Dean smirked back.

"We better sober up a bit." Sam told Charlie pouring her a glass of soda. "We're gonna have to drag them up to bed when this is done."

"Don't I know it." she sighed. "Up side," she smiled. "We can talk fandoms while they prove whos got the bigger set."

"Sounds like fun." Sam smiled back.

It was close, their heads started listing and they started wabbling in their seats around the third shot. But they kept going. One after the other till they got to eleven. Then their heads started lowering. Sam and Charlie, who had been talking about a fan theory for the Charmed show, paused to watch as their heads got lower and lower. Finally Dorothy's landed with a sound thunk shortly followed by Dean.

"Damnit." Charlie sighed.

"I told you, Dean is a monster, but Eileen seems to have an iron stomach." Sam snorted as Eileen's head finally hit too. "Let's get them upstairs."

"Yeah, goodnight, see you in the morning." Charlie huffed as she got her girlfriend to her feet.

"You too." Sam smiled, wondering if he should just fireman carry his brother to his room, but settling of situating his arm over his shoulder, he then leaned down to grab Eileen too, keeping her close to his hip.

"I can come back for her." Charlie told him.

"No I got her." Sam smiled "just need to know where her room is."

"She's across from me." Charlie said. "Drop off Dean first, then come to my floor, I'll help you with the rest."

"Thanks." he nodded.

They separated in the on the stairs, Charlie went one floor higher while Sam went down the hall a bit.

"Sam?"

Turning just as he reached Dean's door, Sam found Cas in a pair of sweats and a ratty t-shirt standing in the doorway to the room just across from Dean's.

"Everything alright?" he asked his roaming eyes over Dean worried.

"He's fine." Sam snorted shifting Dean's weight so he wouldn't fall."Dorothy challenged him to a drinking game."

"Oh great." Cas rolled his eyes. "She is gonna be a joy in the morning. Who won?"

"Eileen did."

"That doesn't surprise me?"

"Yeah, are you okay? I thought you were going to bed."

"I am, but I'm gonna lock up first. Make sure no random strangers just waltz right in while we're sleeping."

"Has that happened before?" Sam asked taking a more serious expression.

"Not to my knowledge, but better safe than sorry."

"Right." Sam nodded. "Better get them to bed, goodnight."

"Here let me help." Cas offered taking Dean from Sam's side.

"Thanks." Sam smiled at the lack of dead weight on his side. "Just set him in the bed, he'll pull the covers over himself at some point."

"Are you going to change his clothes?" Cas asked him.

"Nah, he sleeps in his clothes all the time." Sam shrugged shifting Eileen so he was holding her bridal style.

Cas gave a little nod and followed the younger Winchester out into the hall and to the stairs.

"Goodnight, Sam." Cas smiled heading down.

"Night." Sam called softly after him heading up.

"Here." Charlie smiled holding the door open for him.

"Thanks." he nodded placing Eileen in the bed.

"I got the rest." Charlie told him. "I'll get her in her pjs, you go take care of you brother."

"Thanks." he nodded again, but as he tried to leave his writs was caught by an unconscious Eileen.

Charlie laughed as he pried her fingers off him and gently set her hand on the bed.

"Goodnight." she called softly.

"Night." Sam smiled, slightly red in the cheeks.

Cas walked throughout the whole of the lodge, tugging at doors and flicking locks on windows. He didn't stay too long at each stop, wanting to get this done so he could go back to bed. At each window he pulled the shades closed out of a sense of discomfort. He couldn't shake the feeling that something might be out there looking in on them. When he got to the last window he paused. It was cracked open. Not large enough for an animal or person to get in, it was barely enough for his fingers.

"Gabriel." he sighed shaking his head. "Probably trying to hide his pot. Like we don't all know."

He grabbed the top ready to push it down but paused again.

Was that… giggling?

For just a moment, he could have sworn he heard a child giggling, a haunting gleeful sound. But when he looked out he didn't see anything. It was pitch black, shades of shadow and midnight on the white snow.

"The wind." Cas shrugged pushing the window closed and locking it, then pulling the shades down blocking any view outside.

The last thing he did before heading back to his room was lock the basement door. He could have gone down in it and locked the door leading outside. But he didn't feel like fumbling around in the dark to try and find it. Not to mention the giggling was still in his head. It sent chills down his spine.

That all done he sighed and headed back upstairs.

Perhaps it was a good thing he didn't head into the basement, one never knows what could be lurking in the dark.

"Ugh." Dean groaned rubbing his face.

The light of the mid morning sun was blazing past his open shades and right into his eyes. He considered just pulling the covers over his head and going back to sleep, but the pounding in his head had other plans. So with a resigned sigh he stretched and rolled out of bed barely catching himself as he fell to the ground.

"Hell of a party." he coughed.

First thing he did was head to the bathroom to relieve himself and shower hoping that would ease the aching in his gut and his head- plus he was ripe. All shiny and smelling fresh he headed back to his room and got redressed before walking through the bathroom again and into Sam's room.

"Sammy." he called knocking on the door getting no answer. "Hey, Sam." he turned the knob and pushed through finding Sam's bed made and his room empty. "Huh."

From here there were only a few other places that he could be, and the first one to check was the kitchen. Maybe he could get some coffee while he was in there. The hall was quiet as he walked, it was eerie. Soon enough he reached the kitchen, but it wasn't Sam he found.

"Morning, Cas." he called softly.

Cas looked up from his spread out papers and books and smiled.

"Morning." He addressed pointing over his shoulder with his pen. "Coffee is in the pot, sugar, creamer, milk all you need is on the counter."

"Awesome." Dean smiled, bee lining straight for the pot.

Nodding Cas went back to his books. While Dean made his cup he watched Cas work. He was dressed in a blue hoodie over a red T-shirt and a pair of comfy looking jeans with converse. He looked like a little nerd. But what topped it off were the pair of square glasses he wore that amplified his blue eyes.

"I've never seen you wear glasses." Dean said sitting across the other boy at the island.

"I need them to read." Cas said off handed.

"What'cha working on?"

"Homework, college prep work."

"Seriously, now, aren't you supposed to be relaxing?"

Cas laughed at this looking up with a soft smile.

"I do find this relaxing." he shrugged. "I enjoy studying. And this is the perfect time to catch up on my working theory. I'm studying herbal remedies and natural herbs. I want to see if I can't find ways to use them to substitute some of the more addictive medicines we use this day and age."

"Not a fan of the good stuff huh?" Dean snorted.

"I'm indifferent to them." Cas sighed removing his glasses. "But they do create a problem. Doctors can't trust their patients aren't just after the drugs, and patients who are truly afraid of addiction refuse help because they don't want to take the chance, making their conditions worse. If I can find a better way, I'd rather do that."

"I see your point." Dean nodded. "But you really think herbal remedies will help."

"It's worked for centuries before man invented chemical pharmaceuticals." Cas shrugged. "If I can reintroduce it, at least for pain and mild symptoms I think it will truly make a difference."

Dean chuckled sipping at his coffee.

"What?" Cas asked cocking his head and furrowing his brow.

"Nothing," Dean shook his head. "It's just cute how passionate you are about this. It's nice."

Cas reddened just the slightest and looked away scratching the back of his neck as he leaned over his books again.

"Thank you." he murmured.

Dean watched him work for a moment longer before looking around remembering his previous mission.

"Where is everyone?" he asked sipping at his coffee.

"Most of them are still asleep." Castiel informed. "They will be asleep until at least noon. Micheal's most likely still in his room reading, or he might be outside taking a walk. And Sam is in the library."

"Of course he is." Dean snorted. "So when everyone wakes up what do you think we'll all do."

"Well for a little while, everyone will just meander and do their own thing. Then when the sun starts to set we'll come together again for drinks and games. We might do cards against humanity this time around."

"So what do you plan to do while everyone meanders?"

"Well, Charlie mentioned something about binging all the Lord of the Rings Movies, or Harry Potter."

"Sounds fun."

"Indeed." Cas smiled. "Though I'm sure Sam is going to try and read our entire library before that. He seemed pretty happy to see all the books."

"Yeah, he is a bit of a nerd." Dean nodded. "You said it was all fiction in there."

"Yup." Cas deadpanned. "Lots and lots of fiction, all kinds of fiction. It's technically dad's library, and he's got a fiction addiction."

"Sounds fic-tastic." Dean smiled.

"I think you miss pronounced that word." Cas said looking up at him in confusion.

Dean's smiler faltered and he shook his head.

"No I meant to say it that way." Dean told him raising his brow in a 'c'mon dude' sort of way.

"Oh," Cas hummed scratching at his head. "Sorry, my 'people' skills are rusty. Too many hours with the medical books."

"I can see that." Dean snorted. "I'm gonna go see what Sammy's up to."

"It's the first door on the left second floor." Cas told him still looking down at his notes.

"Thanks." Dean smiled.

"Sure thing."

"No I mean thanks." Dean pressed, getting Cas to look up at him. "For inviting us. Sam and I, we sort of needed this."

Cas smiled, a genuine whole smile where it took up most of his face.

"I'm glad I could help out." He nodded. "I'm also glad you came."

Dean smiled back, gave Cas's shoulder a solid pat and headed for the stairs.

"Sammy." He called once he found the library, like Cas said it was the first door on the left, and it was oddly shaped. Walking in, the room curved inward so the floor to ceiling shelves that lined the wall curled toward you. Like a crescent moon Dean thought.

"Hey." Sam called back from a plush chair by an electric fireplace.

"What is it with this place and fireplaces." Dean wondered.

"I'm pretty happy for it, it was freezing in here until I turned the thing on." Sam smiled setting the book he was reading in his lap.

"What'cha reading?" Dean asked.

"H.P. Lovecraft." Sam cleared his throat looking down at the leather bound. "What are you doing?"

"Just got done talking to Cas." Dean shrugged leaning against the long study table adjacent to Sam's chair. "Still got the feeling of being watched."

"No not right now." Sam said pushing a breath through his nose and looking to the window. "But it was weird last night man. I felt it all throughout the house."

"Maybe your just jumpy, I mean it's not like we ever go anywhere where there isn't a monster or something else that goes bump in the night."

"Maybe." Sam sighed looking to the window. "So what's on the agenda today?"

"Well Cas says that no one is likely to wake up till noon, and by then everyone will wander around and do their own thing till the sun starts to set. Then the drinking and games start."

"Sounds fun." Sam snorted. "Is this how these 'weekend away' thing work?"

"Don't ask me, I've never done it before. The closest I got to weekend parties was what I saw on tv." Dean shrugged pushing off the table. "So what do you want to do till then?"

"Well there is tone here to keep me occupied." Sam smiled looking around the library. "Looks like you'll have to go find something else to occupy your time."

"Worst brother ever." Dean huffed heading for the door.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Dean headed back to his room trying to find something to take up the hours until sundown. But the room was bare sans his own duffle bag. He was just about to resign himself to heading back to the library and join Sam when there was a knock on his door.

"Hey Cas." Dean smiled seeing the youngest Novak. "What's up."

"Oh um, I finished my work, and I realized that you might be a bit board so I wanted to ask if you wanted to join me in a bit of gaming till the girls wake up."

"Gaming? What sort of game."

"Smash brothers." Cas shrugged. "I personally don't game much, but I find this game is a great way to pass the time."

Dean smirked leaning against the doorframe.

"So your saying that playing you wouldn't even be a challenge."

Cas cocked his head.

"I'm saying it's a good way to pass the time." he informed, before donning a little grin that would make anyone's heart melt. "And that you may find it a bit harder than that to beat me."

"Your so on." Dean chuckled joining Cas out in the hall.

"Hey Sam." Eileen called entering the library. "Whatcha reading?"

"Hey." Sam smiled using his finger to mark his page. "Just some H.P. Lovecraft."

"Nice." she smiling leaning against the shelf looking slightly sheepish. "Hey um… I just wanted to apologise for last night."

"Huh?" he asked tilting his head.

"Last night when you were helping me to bed," she was talking fast and signing even faster making it difficult for him to read. "You shouldn't have had to do that. I'm sorry."

"Oh it's fine." Sam shrugged. "I've had to deal with worse thanks to my brother and father."

"Still." she murmured.

"It's fine, I promise." Sam smiled giving her the sign for OK. "What are you doing?"

"Wondering why I thought it was a good idea to drink so much." she rolled her eyes.

"Well at least you won the drink off." Sam snorted.

"Yeah, though the prize wasn't all that prizely."

"I bet."

"I was gonna go down and see what everyone was doing but it sounds a bit too loud down there." she sighed sitting in an armchair. "Think I'll catch up on some reading while my hangover runs its course."

"Sounds like a plan." Sam smiled handing her the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

"Oh that is so cheating, everyone knows that Luigi is way overpowered in this game." Dean growled as his Link died.

"Then how about we both be Luigi and we see once and for all who the better gamer is." Cas challenged with a mirthful smile.

"You got yourself a bet." Dean hooted back.

"Jesus, you two are loud enough to wake the dead." Charlie yawned as she entered the sitting room scratching her head and rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." Dean greeted.

"Coffee is ready and waiting." Cas told her.

"You're an angle." She hummed.

"Where's Dorothy?" Dean asked when she came back.

"Probably getting out of the shower now." Charlie sighed, curling up next to Dean. "So whos kicking whos ass?"

"It's a bit tied." Cas informed getting ready for the next round. "Dean is a formidable opponent."

"Yeah, well you ain't so bad yourself Castiel." Dean shot back, gracing him with a debonair smile.

"Oh put that away." Charlie groaned pushing Dean a little into Cas. "If you two are gonna bang then it has to be after Dorothy and I kick your butts at this game."

"Oh another challenger has entered the ring." Dean laughed mashing buttons with a warriors fury. "What do you say Cas, we down to make her eat her words?"

"Well she is a tough one." Cas told Dean, his cheeks still dusted with red. "With Dorothy she is nearly impossible to beat, but with our skills together I'd say we might have a shot."

"You wish." Charlie snorted.

A few minutes later Dorothy joined them and instantly got into the game. Cas wasn't wrong when he said they were tough. Dean had lost three rounds against them before he finally got the rythm and got a good idea of their style. After that it was fair game.

"Haha, take that." Dean cheered as he sent Charlie's jigglypuff off the ring.

"Danmit c'mon." She growled. "Avenge me my love!"

"I'm fighting off a ravenous fox thing, you'll have to take a number." Dorothy told her mashing at her buttons as Dean and Cas ganged up on her.

"Hey what's going on?" Sam asked as came down the stairs Eileen close on his heel.

"Oh just kicking ass and taking names." Dean whooped.

"Oh whatever Winchester." Dorothy accosted with a roll of her eyes. "Just a moment ago you were getting your ass handed to you."

"But oh how the tables have turned." Dean smirked cheekily.

"They have been talking like this since the first round." Cas sighed.

"Sammy you and Eileen should join us." Dean urged. "We can switch out or something. It's awesome."

"No thanks." Sam laughed looking between his brother and the girls. "Think just watching is enough for me."

"Your loss." Dean shrugged as Sam took his seat next to Cas.

"C'mon Sam." Eileen pleaded. "We can be on the same team."

Sam deliberated for a moment before he gave in with a sigh.

"Fine, we'll play the winners." he told the others.

"Hell yeah." Dean cheered.

"Later, losers." Gabriel called as he and Kahli headed for the back door.

"Where are you going." Cas asked pausing the game ignoring Dorothy and Dean's displeased squakes.

"Headin to the Cabin little bro." Gabe told them. "Looking for some alone time with my special lady friend."

"You couldn't have that here?" Cas asked raising his brow.

"Not with the energy between Michael and Lucy." Gabe snorted. "Seriously killin' my limbindo. So, we're headin' to the cabin and we'll see you in the morning when we get back."

"Fine." Cas sighed turning back to the game and unpausing.

The door clicked shut and the only sounds heard were buttons being pressed and the sound effects of the game. Even Dean and Dorothy's smack talk stopped. The atmosphere was just too still.

"So what's the deal with Michael and Lucifer?" Dean finally asked.

Sam's head snapped to him, if he had been sitting closer he would have smacked him upside the head.

"It's complicated." Cas sighed.

"Nothing complicated about it." Dorothy rolled her eyes again. "He's a spoiled little brat and Micheal's a good little soldier. They clash, plus we can't ever have one of these weekends without Lucifer trying to ruin it with some bullshit."

"Are they hurting each other, like physically?" Sam asked looking back to the stairs.

"No." Cas urged dropping his controller and getting his character killed.

"Cas." Dean whined looking at him. "You made us lose the round."

"Cas?" Sam asked.

"I mean," Cas sighed running a hand through his hair. "Lucifer is petty and jealous and will use words to hurt, but he would never hurt our brother, not like that."

"Still sounds wrong." Dean huffed. "Words sometimes cut deeper than knives."

"I know." Cas sighed leaning back. "But unless Micheal asks for help, I can't do anything. It would just cause more problems if I did."

"It's not our place Dean." Sam said giving his brother a soulful look.

"Fine." Dean huffed getting up with a stretch. "But he starts swinging I'm knocking him out. Anyone want a soda or a beer?"

"A little early for alcohol Dean." Sam sighed.

"It's five oclock somewhere." Dean shrugged.

"Dean." Sam shook his head. "We're gonna get drinks for everyone what does everyone want."

"I will take a Dr. Pepper." Cas said.

"Coke." Dorothy said starting up another round.

"Dito." Charlie sighed stretching.

"Dr. Pepper for me." Eileen signed.

"Kay, sodas all around." Dean smiled.

"That includes you." Sam hissed.

"Fine." Dean gritted back.

They headed for the kitchen.

"So do you think we're gonna have to beat down Cas's brother?" Dean asked as they started pulling things from the fridge. "Because I gotta say that is not gonna be working towards my goal."

"You mean your goal to get laid?" Sam raised a brow.

"Yeah that one."

"I will try my to hold myself back from clobberin a prick." Sam promised taking the offered drinks.

"Oh I'm not worried about you when it comes to the clobberin. That's my usual flaw." Dean smiled in a boyish way before going serious. "I'm actually worried I might do that. If he goes after Cas or the girls, I'm putting him down."

"I'm with you there." Sam nodded.

"But let's just hope that doesn't happen." Dean sighed. "Let's just try to have fun."

"Alright, with your final vote, Sam, Dean," Charlie started taking her coke and popping the tab. "We will decide whether to move onto a fantasy movie marathon or continue with the brawls."

"What about the others?" Sam asked.

"Lucifer will join us when he wants and we'll most likely move onto risk or cards against humanity then." Charlie shrugged.

"And Michael will spend absolutely no time with us." Cas sighed. "He is only here to get away from the pressures at home, and to catch up on his reading and ROTC work."

"So it's just us till someone shows up." Charlie cheered. "Which is fine by me, no offense to your siblings Cas."

"None taken." Cas shrugged.

"So what will it be boys?" Dorothy asked looking to the brothers. "Game or marathon?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other. It was clear to each other that they wanted one or the other, and it was clear who wanted what. So they settled this they way they always did. They held up their hands, fist horizontal in their other palm, then together they started hitting their palms with their fists. The result was best two out of three and Sam won, with two rocks over Dean's scissors.

"Damnit." Dean hissed.

"We vote marathon." Sam smiled triumphantly.

The others just stared. To them it looked like the boys were talking in some secret language before they just started playing rock, paper , scissors. But they just looked at each other, shrugged and started getting everything ready for the marathon. Popcorn was made, soda was grabbed, and spots were claimed. They curled up on the chairs and couch, the girls pressing themselves together like a pretzel. Castiel sat on the other side, and Dean decided to sit with him. Sam rolled his eyes at them and just sat in the armchair with Eileen sitting on the arm between him and the others. They started with the first Harry Potter movie to which Dean spent most of it snorting at the magic- when you've seen the real thing you can't help but laugh. He kept getting prodded by Cas for it and hushed by the girls. He did try to control himself after a while. Eventually he got used to it and was completely silent with only a few bits of positive commentary with everyone.

"Hey anyone else hungry?" Charlie suddenly asked rubbing her belly.

"Pizza." Cas said standing up. "I'll go put it in the oven."

"I'll help." Dean smiled standing.

"It's just popping some frozen pizza in the oven, Dean." Cas eyed him.

"And gathering chips and dip." Dean smirked all cheek. "You can't just have pizza."

"If you insist." Cas snorted.

Sam watched them rolling his eyes again and finding them aching.

He really needed to stop doing that.

"Where the hell do you think you're going Lucifer?"

They all looked to the stairs again seeing a brusk blonde rushing down them and to the door.

"Lucifer we are not done." Micheal called stomping after him.

"Yeah, we are." Lucifer snorted.

With that he grabbed his coat and flew through the door and into the snowy twilight.

"That dumb ass." Micheal huffed heading back up the stairs.

"Hey, your just gonna let him go out there alone?" Sam demanded appalled at the lack of familial bonds between these brothers.

"He'll be fine." Micheal snapped. "Besides it's not any of your business."

"He could get hurt." Sam called after him.

"If your so worried then why don't you go get him." Micheal threw back disappearing around the corner of the landing.

That wasn't a bad idea, at least Sam thought so. Something told him it wasn't really a good idea for anyone here to go out in the dark. Though it wasn't dark yet it was getting there. So without a second thought he grabbed hit coat and started for the door.

"Hey Sam, just leave it." Charlie called. "Micheal's right, Lucifer will be fine."

"Something tells me otherwise." Sam inisted. "I won't be long, just gonna make sure he makes it to the cars at the very least."

"If your right and it's not safe out there then you'll be alone on the way back." Dorothy pointed out. "How is that smart?"

"I'll be fine." he assured.

"I'm coming with you." Eileen told him grabbing her coat.

"What, no, just stay here." he shook his head.

"Not happening." she shook her head back. "I'm coming to watch your six."

"I'll be fine." he said again.

"Cool, then I would like to take a walk to the cars. I might have forgotten something in mine." she shrugged walking past him and through the door, calling back over her shoulder, "Coming?"

He wanted to argue, but she was already at the gate.

"Damnit." he hissed rushing after her and nearly slipping on some ice as he went.

The setting sun created an eerie aesthetic on the mountain, painting the snow with reds and purples. It was enough to set Sam's nerves on edge, not Eileen though. She just breezed through the snow in her boots like she owned the mountain. But Sam wondered what she was really thinking.

"So you rescue brothers in distress often?" he asked after making sure she could see his lips.

"Nah." she shrugged. "Mostly men who think they know what their doing."

"And you think I'm one of those guys?" he asked looking scandalized.

"Maybe." she tilted her head in a cocky way. "You did decide to run out in the snow, after a guy you don't know."

"Well maybe I'm the hero and you're just the pesky sidekick." he snarked back.

"Hmm, you might be right." she conceded. "Though I'm definitely the hero and you the sidekick."

"Alright." he laughed. "Better than being a damsel."

They had a good laugh at that before falling silent again.

"So how long have you lived in Alaska?" he finally asked.

"Not long." she shrugged. "A month or so. I might be leaving soon."

"Really, why?"

"My guardians job has us moving around a lot."

"Ah, I get that." Sam nodded. "My dad's job has us moving around too."

"I thought your dad was a mechanic."

"He is," Sam caught himself backtracking. "What I meant was, he gets restless easily, so he moves us around. He gets bored and we move onto the next town and he gets another job at another garage."

"Wow, that sounds like no fun." she said. "You are just lugged around with your dad like luggage?"

"Well I never thought about it like that." he winced. "It does sound like that huh?"

"How do you think about it?"

"Well, when my mom died, my dad felt like part of it was where we are. Now I think he thinks that if we stay somewhere too long then something bad will happen again." It wasn't a complete lie, bad things do tend to happen they just get there after the bad things started.

"Huh, so he has some kind of PTSD?"

"Yeah I guess."

"I get that." she nodded. "Crystal, my guardian, is like that. She keeps me on a short leash. Super protective."

"And she let you come out tonight."

"After I begged for three days." Eileen chuckled. "Even then I had to promise I'd be safe and swear not to do anything stupid."

"And yet, here you are, following me out into the woods looking for a guy we don't really know."

"I'm just here to make sure you don't get mauled by a grizzly." she laughed throwing her hands up in a 'whatever' gesture. "Something tells me that you dying would ruin the party mood."

"Yeah just a little bit." Sam laughed with her.

"Why are you two following me?"

They both halted to a stop not realizing that they had caught up with Lucifer at some point. He was standing there in the middle of the path looking pissed and bored with his hands in his pockets. Basically someone who doesn't want to hear that two friends of his brother came out here to make sure he was okay.

"Dean needed something from the car so I offered to get it and Eileen came with me to keep me company." Sam covered thankful that Eileen nodded in agreement.

"Bullshit." Lucifer spat. "Cassie or Michael sent you out here didn't they, make sure that I didn't do something stupid."

"I don't even think Cas knows your out here." Sam shrugged.

"Then Michael." Lucifer affirmed for himself. "Such a load of crap. I'm tired of this, playing with the little humans to try and make it all seem so normal. Bunch of pathetic, flawed apes."

"What?" Sam asked his hand inching toward the knife in his pocket- and this is when he realized he was out here with nothing but a pocket knife, now he really wished they had made it to the cars.

"You heard me." Lucifer snarled. "My siblings are all fine with playing nice. With ignoring what our mother has planned for us. Not me. She wants us to help power heaven, they want to be normal, well we're not normal and I'm tired of pretending." Sam hoped it was just a trick from the setting sun, but for a moment it looked like Lucifer's eyes were glowing red. "You plebs don't even know, with the power I wield I could tear you apart with just a snap of my fingers." he smiled at their confusion gave way to weary anxiety. "That's right, know your place feeble hum-AAAHH!"

"Lucifer!"

They both stood shocked as they just witnessed Lucifer get snatched up and dragged into the brush.

After pulling themselves together they took off after him. Normal people would run away from the gruntled screams coming from the trees, but Sam wasn't normal. He wondered what Eileen's excuse was.

They ran and ran until they finally came to a clearing and froze in their tracks.

It was like a scene from a horror movie. The snow was soaked in red turning it pink. There was a trail of bloody flesh leading all the way to the center of the clearing where, kneeling over the prone, leaking, body of Lucifer, was a creature of unnerving horror. It was lean and gangly, with grey skin stretched tautly over slight muscles. Its eyes were black beads that shined with a cruel joy making both Sam and Eileen take an involuntary step back. It laughed, no giggled, at that. A sound that somehow got passed pointed teeth that jutted out it angled face just under its witch like nose which they could barely make out past the dreads of oily black locks. Laying limp behind it they saw that Lucifer was a bloody mess of cuts and gashes. And his face… there was a cut starting just under his left ear and spreading across his cheeks, through his lips and ending under his right ear. This had to of been the work of the monster's nine inch long scalpel nails.

"Holy crap." Sam gasped.

It giggled more, now staggering toward them in a most likely deliberately creepy way.

"Eileen," Sam started stepping forward brandishing his knife with no hope of winning. "Get back to the lodge."

But she didn't hear him- obviously, he wasn't even facing her, so she couldn't even read his lips. Instead she pushed him behind her and pulled out a forty-five revolver. He was too shocked to say anything and watched as she shot off five rounds.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Shot after shot, and it did nothing.

The bullets left no marks, just bounced off.

"Eileen we need to run." Sam urged grabbing her shoulder. "Now."

The thing lurched at them and Sam barely managed to pull her out of the way. He managed to balance them on a tree then turn around and take off through the trees. Keeping ahold of Eileen's hand he pulled her behind him. They burst through the trees and rushed up the path sprinting at a mad run to keep ahead of the monster. He could hear the thing behind them, around them. Giggling manically between the trees, under his feet, at his back. The fear of getting caught- a crippling thing for most- served to push him further and faster. But finally when they slammed into the lodges of the gate, the giggling stopped. They didn't take the time to look behind them to see if it was still there. They threw open the gate and sprinted up the stairs yelling at the others to open the door. Dean was the one to open it and he ushered them in glancing behind them to see what had them so spooked.

"What happened?" He demanded grabbing Sam's shoulder.

"Is that a gun?" Cas asked eyeing the revolver still gripped in Eileen's hand.

They were both hunched over, breathing harshly and coughing on the oxygen overload.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked. "Are you guys okay?"

"Where's Lucifer?" Dorothy wondered looking at the door.

"Dead." Sam coughed glancing to Cas. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Cas demanded. "What happened?"

"We went after him," Eileen started tucking the gun into her belt. "But he was snatched up and dragged away. When we found him… I'm sorry Cas, but that thing tore him apart."

"That doesn't make any sense." Cas shook his head. "What tore him apart?"

"I don't know what that was." Sam shook his head.

"Sam?" Dean asked now worried.

"I'd never seen anything like this before, Dean." Sam told him. "It… it was grey and small, like a child, or a goblin, and its nails… they were like razors. And bullets did nothing."

"Not just any kind of bullets." Eileen shook her head. "Consecrated iron."

They eyed her for a moment before Eileen rolled her eyes.

"There is a monster that neither of us have ever seen stalking us right now," she said throwing her arms toward the door. "I think we're past the point of secrets. I'm a hunter, and I know you two are too."

"How could you-"

"Sam told me about your dad, and I put the pieces together, it was too much like Crystal."

"So your a hunter?" Sam nodded looking at everyone else around them. "And you've never seen a creature like that before?"

"I've never seen it." she shook her head.

"What are you guys talking about?" Charlie demanded looking panicked yet like she still thought this might be some kind of joke. "What do you mean your hunters. Like bambi?"

"No." Dean shook his head. "Look we don't really have the time for the talk, so long story short, monsters are real. My brother and Eileen and I hunt them and there is one out there right now."

"Are you serious?" Dorothy gasped. "This is a joke right."

"No." Sam urged. "I know it doesn't seem like it could be real, and I know you don't want to believe us, but please just hear me out and stay here."

"Why should we?" Charlie demanded.

"Because we know what we're dealing with this is the safest place to be." Sam told them. "Easily defendable. We can lock ourselves in a room if need be."

"No one is leaving until we figure this out." Dean told them all. "We need to stay together."

"Oh my god!" Cas suddenly gasped remembering something important. "Gabriel and Kahli are still at the cabin."

"Shit." Dean groaned grabbing his coat. "Where is it Cas?"

"Dean what the hell are you doing?" Sam demanded placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to go get them, what do you think I'm doing?" Dean shrugged him off.

"No way, Eileen and I barely made it back. And bullets don't work on that thing." Sam urged.

"Maybe not, but I'm betting a shotgun will at least slow it down." Dean smiled heading up stairs to grab his sawed off from the duffle. "Look I'll go get them and come back, it's a milk run."

"No it's not." Sam shook his head. "We know nothing about this thing, but what it did to Lucifer, Dean you can't go out there at least not alone."

"Your not coming with me." Dean shook his head.

"Of course I am." Sam insisted.

"No I need you and Eileen here to protect everyone." Dean told him.

"They don't need both of us here."

"Sam, just stay here. If something happened to both of us that would leave Eileen to take care of this all on her own. I'm sure she is a capable hunter but leaving her to protect four people who don't know anything is a bit much. I'll be back, just stay here."

Sam wanted to argue but he couldn't think of anyway to change his brother's mind. So instead he followed him back down stairs. Everyone was right where they had left them at the door and staring up at them, the only difference was that Cas had his coat on.

"I'm coming with you." He told Dean.

"Cas-"

"There is no argument to be made." Cas snarled. "Gabriel is my brother and I'm not leaving him out there with a monster on the loose. Besides, you won't be able to find the cabin without my help."

Well that was that. If the situation had been different Sam would have laughed at how well Cas could handle his brother. But this was not the time or place.

"Well fine then." Dean groaned reaching into the duffle and grabbing the other sawed off. "You know how to use this."

"I am unfamiliar but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out." Cas nodded taking the fire arm.

"Watch the kick." Dean told him turning to his brother. "I'll be back, you and Eileen keep this place on lock down."

"And don't tell Michael what's happening until I get back." Cas warned. "This won't go over well either way, but it'll be better if I tell him."

Eileen nodded and Sam pouted.

"C'mon." Cas told Dean heading for the back door. "The cabin is this way."

Dean gave Sam on last look and followed after Cas.

"Lock up after us." he called before stepping out in to the cold.

They were quiet at first, worried that the slightest sound would lead the monster right to them. But after a while of crunching through the snow they figured they were okay and Cas had questions.

"So this is what you do, kill monsters?" Cas asked.

"Most of the time." Dean shrugged. "For the most part my dad kills them and I watch Sammy, but every now and then we'll help him with a hunt."

"Hmm." Cas hummed, nodding slowly lost in thought.

"You believe me?" Dean asked.

"I'm aware of the supernatural in this world, or at least I had suspicions." Cas said. "Ever meet a monster you didn't want to kill."

"Not yet." Dean shook his head. "Why do you ask, do you think this thing will want to be friends."

"No." Cas hissed most likely thinking of his brother. "Just a question."

They were quiet again. Dean wanted to tell Cas everything was going to be okay, that Gabriel and Kahli where okay. But he couldn't bring himself to give the boy false hope. So instead he stuck close to him, watched his back. He swore he would protect this boy and everyone else back at the lodge.

"What started it?" Cas asked after a while. "What got you hunting, if you don't mind my asking."

Dean sighed staring ahead not wanting to tell this story, so he left it short and bitter.

"Something killed my mom, and my dad has been hunting it since." Dean said briskly.

"I see." Cas nodded. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do it." Dean shook his head.

"No I didn't." Cas sighed. "But still, I'm sorry."

Dean watched him for a moment before nodding back.

"I'm sorry too, about your brother." he said, but Cas didn't say anything back.

Silence, all but the crunching snow, shrouded them till they reached a small building.

"This is it." Cas told him quickening his pace to get to the door.

It was small, one story almost like a studio apartment. There was a kitchen connected to the entery-way which also served as a sitting room with a couch and a fireplace and there were two doors which Dean assumed were the bedroom and bathroom. It looked plain, not much decoration. The only thing that could be considered as such were these three totum like statues in each corner.

"Gabriel! Kahli!" Cas called loudly, his voice echoing in the small cabin.

"Shh." Dean hissed grabbing his shoulder. "It might still be around here."

"Why aren't they answering?" Cas hissed back, his voice tight and constricted.

"I don't know." Dean shook his head. "Stay here while I check the bedroom."

"I can help." Cas insisted.

"Just stay here." Dean urged. "I'll be quick."

Cas glared at him, but didn't move as Dean headed forward gun poised and ready.

The door was slightly ajar, which didn't bode well with Dean. Especially when he noticed the bit of red on the floor. He could feel his stomach drop as he pushed it open.

"Damnit." he gritted.

It was only due to the fact that he has seen too many horror scenes that he didn't barf. The walls and floor were covered in blood and flesh. Gabriel was on the bed staring at the ceiling in terror while Kahli was slumped in the corner her face down cast. Both were cut to ribbons, both bore a wicked bloody grin across their faces. It looked like it attacked them when they were in bed and Kahli tried to get away.

"God damnit." Dean huffed rubbing his face.

"Oh my god." Cas whimpered.

Dean hadn't even heard him come up behind him. He was thankful he didn't jump in surprise. Turning to the boy letting him lean on him while he took in the scene before him.

"Cas I'm sorry." he murmured.

"Oh Gabe." Cas winced. "What could have done this, how is this possible?"

"I don't know." Dean shook his head. "But I'll find out, I'll get the thing, I swear."

Cas shook his head.

"This shouldn't be possible." he gritted. "This can't be happening."

"Cas," Dean sighed. "I need to check the bodies, I need to get all the information I can."

"Let me help." Cas insisted. "I am studying to be a doctor."

"Cas-"

"I'll be fine." Cas shook him off. "I'll check on Kalhi."

He didn't let Dean talk him out of it, he passed him and stomped over to Kahli. Dean sighed again and headed over to Gabriel. It was monstrous. There were pieces of flesh littering the bed and there were little red puddles in the wrinkles. Gabriel was a mess, the blood had stopped flowing so this had to have happened a while ago.

"Dean." Cas called horse and harsh. "These cuts… there clear to the bone- through the bone. The amount of strength it would take to do this… what the hell could do this?"

"I wish I knew." Dean shook his head. "There are a lot of monsters out there that could, but not one that matches Sam's ID. And the cuts on the face… I don't know anything that does that."

"So how do we handle this?" Cas asked him, looking watery and ready to burst, like a soap bubble.

"I don't know." Dean shook his head. "Let's just get back to the lodge for now."

"We can't leave them here." Cas urged.

"Just for now." Dean assured. "Just until after we deal with this. Once it's done we'll come back for them."

"And what if it kills us?" Cas asked, answering his own question stupidly.

"That won't happen." Dean insisted. "C'mon, lets-"

They both froze at hearing the front door creak.

"Closet!" Dean hissed grabbing Cas and squeezing in with him.

He pulled the door closed behind him and holding a finger to his lips so Cas kept quiet.

They heard tapping, bare feet on wood floors.

TAP-TAP-TAP

They tensed as it came into the room and they got their first look at it through the crack between the door and the wall.

It was just like Sam had described, short and goblin like. It made little noises that sounded almost like hums, giddy little hums that made Dean holding Cas all the tighter.

It looked around the room, barely paying its previous victims so much as a glance. It was looking for them and Dean knew it wouldn't take long for it to find them. There were only three places they could be. And considering it knew they weren't in the living-room/kitchen and the bathroom door was still closed, well Dean just hoped this thing wasn't that smart.

Of course his one wish wouldn't be answered.

It glanced at the closet and saw something inside that made it giggle in pure glee. It clapped its hands together and staggered for them.

"Shit." Dean hissed gripping his shotgun. "Cas stay behind me."

"No, I'm not letting this thing hurt anyone else." Cas cried throwing the door into the adjacent wall.

"Cas!" Dean cried watching as the boy faced the monster.

Dean was sure he was going to fire off the shotgun, the monster would get pushed back then Dean would fire off a round and they'd run. But instead Cas threw out his hand, and from the reflection of the window Dean could see Cas's eyes glow gold. With a burst of power the monster was pushed back so violently that it went through the wall.

"Holly shit." Dean gapped.

"C'mon." Cas urged grabbing Dean's hand. "I don't think that finished it."

They ran out the door and down the path heading back for the lodge which took a lot less time then Sam and Eileen's trip. Yet somehow the thing still caught up. It jumped in front of them, giggling and a more manic way, like it was angry yet still so happy to see them. This time Dean didn't hesitate to pull Cas behind him and cock his shotgun. He barely took the time to aim before he pulled the trigger. The pellets caught it in the chest pushing the monster back but not stopping it. He cocked the gun again but with a click of the trigger he realized he had no more bullets.

"Shit." he gritted, the bastard was too close for Dean to grab the other gun from Cas so he did the only other thing he could think of. "Hey what's that behind you?"

It paused, cocking its head to the side before taking a look.

Holy shit that actually worked. He thought, in shock as Cas stepped forward and threw it back again.

This time Dean was the one to grab Cas's hand and pull him the rest of the way to the lodge.

"Sam!" Dean cried as they ran up the steps. "Open the door its us!"

Sam did as he was told and Cas and Dean fell in. The door was thrown shut and locked with every lock it had before Sam turned to Cas and Dean.

"You guys okay?" Sam asked kneeling next to Dean.

"We're alive." Dean gasped.

"Sam." Eileen called rushing to their sides. "I felt the door shut. Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine." Cas nodded.

"Where are Gabriel and Kahli?" Sam asked.

Cas bowed his head, while Dean caught Sam's gaze and shook his.

"Damnit." Sam cursed pulling at his hair.

"Tell you one thing though." Dean sighed sitting on his but and leaning back on his hands. "Shotgun does nothing, but kindergarten tricks do."

"What?" Eileen asked.

"I yelled 'what's that behind you' and it fell for it." Dean laughed, a short choked laugh. "But that is nothing compared to what Cas did."

Dean turned to the other boy, his hand inching toward the other shotgun.

"He used some eye glowing psychic power to throw it through a wall." he said, watching the hunched boy carefully. "It saved us, but makes me wonder, what the hell he is."

Cas looked to him, then the gun and shook his head.

"That won't work on me." Cas told him. "Or my brother."

"Cas?" Sam asked. "Dean, what's going on?"

"I think I know." Eileen said placing a hand on Cas's shoulder getting his attention. "Cas, you're an angel, aren't you?"

Cas's eyes widened and he tried to back away from her.

"How did you-"

"Crystal and I were watching your family." Eileen told him. "We had heard about deaths on the mountain and you and your family had this lodge. We thought you were connected, so we watched you. We had a theory that you were angels but had no proof of your connection to the deaths. So with nothing besides seeing your eyes glow a couple of times we couldn't make a move."

"So you pretended to be my friend." Cas snorted. "I see."

"No Cas." Eileen shook her head. "Not now. We are friends, which is why I won't let them hurt you."

He smiled at that.

"While I appreciate that, I must confess that your theory isn't isn't entirely accurate. I'm not an angel, I am a nephilim."

"Wait, nephilim?" Sam gapped. "Like half human, half angle? Angels are real?"

"Yes." Cas nodded. "My siblings and I and I are all half angel half human. We all have powers like telekinesis, healing, advanced strength and speed. My brother, Michael, was the one who moved the pointer on the ouija board to keep us from attracting spirits or our mother."

"Your mother?" Sam asked.

"My mother is an angel named Naomi. And she is... unpleasant, to say the least." Cas sighed. "She found my father, a prophet-"

"A prophet of what?" Dean asked, interrupting.

"Of the lord." Cas deadpanned.

"Like," Dean pointed to the ceiling. "God?"

"Yes." Cas nodded.

The brother's stared bewildered so he took their silence as the cue to continue.

"Apparently after a civil war between themselves, the angles numbers have thinned and heaven is in danger of falling. The only way to save it was to create new angles, so nephilims were created. Once we are completely matured our angel sires will come and take us to become angels ourselves, or thats what Naomi told us. There shouldn't be anything on Earth that could hurt us, the angles have a weapon but that was the only thing I knew of that could kill us. This monster… it's something else."

Dean was still trying to wrap his mind around all this. Whatever that monster was, another hunter and now angles and nephilim and maybe even God, were real. But with all that he still had a more pressing and dangerous question.

What was strong enough to kill a nephilim?

"What the fu-"

"-Fuck is going on!?"

They all looked to the ceiling again.

"What now?" Dean groaned getting to his feet, helping Cas to his and heading for the stairs.

"Michael calm down." Charlie was urging, holding out her hands in front of her, trying to breach calmness.

"Not until someone tells me why there are two nutcases downstairs with guns, what the hell you guys are doing?"

"We're not doing anything." Dorothy gritted. "Look Cas will explain everything once he gets back."

"Back from where?" Michael raored.

"Michael." Cas cut in, pushing his way past Dean.

"Castiel." Michael acknowledged. "What are you doing?"

"Michael, we're in danger." Cas told him sternly. "Something is out there, something dangerous."

"What is this?" Michael snorted. "Some joke. Is Gabrield behind this, or maybe Lucifer is trying to get me back for what I said."

"Michael…" Cas shook his head, his face falling in despair, the loss of his brothers finally crashing in on him.

"Look you tell them that I am not in the mood, and if Lucifer wants to talk to me he can-"

"Will you shut up and listen for once." Cas cried slamming his fist on the wall, putting a dent in the plaster.

They all jumped, staying quiet as they watched the brother's exchange.

"What's going on?" Michael asked tensing.

"Lucifer and Gabriel, and Kahli," Castiel choked, his fist clenching. "They're dead."

Charlie gasped, leaning into Dorothy while Eileen let her chin hit her chest. Dean and Sam watched Michael and Cas, ready to intervene should this get out of hand. But Michael just laughed.

"That's not funny Cas." He snorted. "I mean it's impossible and you know why."

"Its not." Cas whimpered. "This thing, it tore them apart."

"That's impossible." Michael urged, looking slightly panicked. "The only thing that can even hurt us is an angle blade."

He must not of cared that there were people here that didn't know their secret.

"I thought so too." Cas hiccuped. "But that's not the case. This thing withstood my angel powers."

"But that's not possible." Michael shook his head sitting down. "They can't be dead."

"I'm sorry brother." Cas shook his head. "But they are. And we're still in danger."

"Then we need to get out of here." Charlie urged. "Make a break for it."

"I'm not going anywhere till that thing pays for what it did to my brothers." Michael snarled. "I'll rip it limb from limb."

"Look, I get it." Dean said just behind Cas. "Believe me I do. But we can't just go after it half cocked. We need to figure out what we're dealing with."

"Why can't we just go?" Dorothy demanded. "If we run for the cars-"

"Look, no one can go anywhere." Dean told them stepping up beside Cas. "That thing is too fast for us to outrun, it's strong and it's giggly."

"Dean," Sam ticked. "What is it with you and giggling."

"It's not natural." Dean gritted.

"Yeah it's supernatural." Sam corrected.

Dean glared at him over his shoulder not really liking his joke.

"Look the point is, it's too dangerous out there right now. We're gonna figure it out but for right now we just need everyone to stay put until then."

"Why stay here?" Michael snarked. "We're sitting ducks inside the lodge. If it got into the cabin it can get in here, best bet is to take our chances out there."

"That is actually a good point." Cas said turning to Dean. "Why hasn't it come in here yet? It came into the cabin, why didn't it come into the lodge yesterday or last night when we were sleeping?"

Dean and Sam traded thoughtful looks wondering the same things themselves. Then Dean saw something. An Idol just like the ones at the cabin.

"Hey what is that?" He asked pointed to the little statue in the room. "I saw three of the same idols in the cabin."

This caught Sam's attention and he moved to pick it up.

"Don't." Cas urged following him and grabbing his shoulder. "Don't move it."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"It's the one thing our father is strict about." Michael told him.

"He has four for each floor." Cas added. "One for every corner of each floor."

Sam looked to Dean as they both came to the same conclusion.

"That's why it hasn't gotten in here." Sam said aloud so everyone could be privy to their thought process. "These are protection idols."

"Place them in the four corners and you got yourself a bubble of protection." Dean nodded.

"Then why didn't it attack when we were coming up from the parking spot?" Dorothy asked now standing next to Charlie.

"Not sure." Sam shook his head. "But something has been bugging me since I got here. Your dad put up the idols, and the book he wrote about the aswang and the lodge. I think your dad knew that thing was out here and he took measures to keep it at bay."

"So you're saying our father put us all in danger." Michael glared.

"No, I think he thought he had it taken care of." Sam amended. "With these idols."

"Until one in the cabin broke." Dean rubbed his chin. "I only saw three in the cabin. That's why it could get in. And I bet the reason none of you have seen it is because this lodge and the cabin are part of a triangle. You see it a lot in lore, ward off three different key points in one area and create one big bubble of no evil."

"Then what would be the third point?" Eileen asked.

"I don't know, the parking lot maybe." Dean shrugged. "Point is one of the points was taken out, so the bubble went away."

"Meaning it can only get us now if we're outside one of the two remaining points." Cas concluded. "Fantastic."

"Cas, does your dad keep any of his notes or anything like that here?" Sam asked.

"Maybe, it would all be in the study." Cas nodded gesturing to the hall. "I'll help you look, Dean and Charlie get to work on finding this thing. Michael please be patient, the sooner we figure all this out the sooner we'll get out of here."

"Dorothy and I'll patrol the lodge." Eileen said taking Dean's shotgun. "This may be a safe point, but I would still feel better knowing where this thing is."

"I'm with you there." Dorothy nodded following her into the hall.

"Be careful." Charlie called after her girlfriend.

Dorothy threw her a small smile and a thumbs up before she disappeared from sight.

"Right, let's get started." Sam called.

Dean and Charlie set up in the library, she pulled out her laptop and connected to the net typing in all the clues they found. Giggling, claws and gullible. Dean glanced over her shoulder for a bit before going over to the selves and searching all the lore books. Sam and Cas went down the hall to the room adjacent to the library. It was about the same size as all the other bedrooms with more shelves lining the walls. These all had notebooks, and figures of monsters and such on them. There was a liquor cabinet and some odd maps on the walls. And at the head of the room, so it's back was facing the window, was a big mahogany desk with an old pc sitting silent on it.

"All of dad's notes should be here." Cas said pulling out the drawer full of notebooks.

"Thanks, Cas." Sam smiled taking the first notebook.

They cracked the first couple open and began their long stretch into research.

"In a horrifying kind of way, this is cool." Charlie hummed as she typed away at her laptop. "I mean it's like X-files or Charmed."

"I have never seen an alien, and there is no such thing as good witches." Dean laughed.

"Still, kind of cool." she smiled. "How did you get started."

Not this again.

"My mom." He said simply. "She was killed by something so my dad trained us to hunt."

"Oh, less cool." she said grimly. "Okay, so I have looked up goblins, since you said it looked like that, but I haven't found any that match your description, and least not close enough. They're missing the nine inch nails or the giggle."

"So maybe it's not a goblin, which would make sense since I've never seen one of those before." Dean offered. "Maybe it's a bastard offshoot of a wendigo, or an aswang."

"Ugh." Charlie shivered. "Thanks to Chuck's books I now know what both those things are and I really hope your wrong."

Still she typed at her laptop now looking into the lore behind both and trying to find any bad apples in the monster tree.

"Your weirdly calm about this." Dean noted.

"Well being a nerd has a few advantages." She smirked. "Even though this is terrifying and I may pee myself any minute, it's like I'm really in one of my favorite fandoms now. It's cool, and scary, mostly scary, but still cool."

"You know this isn't a game right?"

"Well duh, people are dead." She stopped just so she could glare at him. "I'm not taking this lightly Dean. Dorothy isn't the only one who knows how to use firearms. Should this come down to a life or death battle I'll be with you pumping the thing full of lead. I may not have been close with Kahli or Lucifer, but I liked Gabriel and I'm not letting some B list monster kill my friends. Believe me, even if this were a game I'll clear it without letting my party take any damage."

He didn't really get that last part, but her conviction was touching so he just smiled at her and nodded.

"Well first things first, we got to ID the damn thing." Dean huffed picking up another book.

"I think we've got an idea of what it is." Sam called entering the library with Cas and the girls.

"Great what?" Dean asked.

"We don't know the details, but Cas found something in his dad's journals." he concluded nodded to Cas.

Cas nodded back and looked to the notebook in his hand.

"I'm sure now that the thing that has been stalking my cabin is in fact a Mahaha, so I took measures to keep it away until I find a way to kill it." he finished looking up to everyone. "As far as I can tell that was the last thing my father wrote about the creature."

"What the hell is a Mahaha?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Cas shook his head. "That's all dad ever wrote about it, at least to identify it. Everything else is about the weeks of him being hunted by it. He kept getting away because he kept tricking it like what you did out in the woods."

"Still I got a name." Charlie informed typing furiously at her computer. "I can find out the rest."

It took her a moment to find the right website but after a while she cheered as she began to read off the information.

"The Mahaha is a inuit spirit or demon that rooms the frozen Artic. It can be distinguished by the giggling sound it makes and it's frostbitten skin. It has razor sharp nails that it uses to 'tickle' its victims to death." she gave a short huh at that. "Maybe that's where the term tickle monster came from."

"That might explain why it can hurt you and your brothers." Sam said. "If it's a demon it might have some juice behind it."

"Perhaps." Cas nodded. "That would also explain its immense strength."

"But does it say how to kill it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know, hang on." Charlie said looking at the screen again.

"Found it." Eileen called, she had moved to look over Charlie's shoulder so she could get all the info without any miss-information. "It says there is no sure way to kill, but cutting off its head will slow it down and it doesn't like fire."

"So we gotta cut off its head then burn the rest for good measures." Dean huffed. "Awesome."

"Okay, well we got some machettees with us." Sam noted. "Is there gasoline or kerosene anywhere."

"In the basement." Cas nodded. "We keep a stalk of gasoline in case we need to use the generators."

"Kay, so we have our weapons." Sam nodded. "Now we just need to catch the thing."

"And how are we going to do that?" Dorothy asked.

"By luring it into a trap." Dean told them. "Cas do you think you could hold the thing still long enough for one of us to cut off its head?"

"I believe so." Cas nodded. "Especially if Michael helps me."

"Kay then Sam and I will act as live bait and get it to chase us the trap point." Dean nodded.

"And where is that?" Eileen asked.

"We'll use the space just outside the front gate." Sam told them.

"But how will we know where the bubble of protection starts?" Charlie wondered. "I mean we can't get it into the trap if the trap is warded against it."

"That is where you come in." Dean told her. "There is a tottum right by the front door, you watch us out there and remove the tottum so we can be sure the trap will work. But if things go south then you put the tottum back the creep will be expelled and we are safe in the bubble."

"Oh cool." She smiled.

"What about us?" Dorothy asked gesturing toward herself and Eileen. "What will we be doing?"

"Well Sam and I are going to be the bait, bet when we get here Cas and Michael will hold the thing still long enough for one of you to lop off its head then we'll soak it in gasoline, light a match and watch it burn."

"Got it." Eileen nodded. "I'll cut off its head."

"I'll be on stand-bye with the gas." Dorothy affirmed.

"Okay, now all we need to do is fill Michael in on the plan and we're golden." Dean smirked.

"I'll go get him." Cas offered heading into the hall.

"You really think this is gonna go that smoothly?" Sam asked crossing his arms.

"No." Dean huffed. "But it's the best plan we got for now."

"Well at the very least, we've got two nephilim on our side." Sam sighed running his hand through his hair.

"Wait what?" Charlie balked. "Who's a nephilim?"

"Oh right," Dean remembered they never told Dorothy and Charlie. "Um Cas and Michael are half angles."

"What?" both girls cried.

"Explain now!" Dorothy demanded.

"I think your gonna have to ask-"

"He's gone!" Cas yelled skidding to a stop in front of the library door.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Michael, he's gone!" Cas said again wide eyed.

"I can't believe we're doing this again." Dean gritted trudging through the snow. "Why did he leave?"

"He wanted to avenge his brothers." Sam sighed.

"Yeah well now we're out here looking for his dumb ass, while the girls hold down the fort."

"We're still executing your plan." Cas informed him, looking tight and cornered. "There is just the added step of finding my idiot brother."

"Great." Dean groaned.

They had altered the plan to accommodate the slight hiccup, so now not only were Sam and Dean live bait but so was Cas, and they were looking for Michael at the same time. There was another problem they considered but they would deal with it should it come. They hoped that it wouldn't. That she wouldn't. They also decided that after this was done Dean would call his dad, Cas his and Eileen Crystal. They would find out weather to call the cops or mourn the dead the hunters way instead.

But for now, they had a nephilim to save, and a snow demon to kill.

"I'll tell you this, if you're brother isn't already dead, I'm going to kill him." Dean huffed, his voice puffing out in frost.

"Dean." Sam chastised.

"Sorry, not funny when you think about it." Dean back tracked.

"No I'm with you." Cas gritted. "If he isn't dead, he's going to be."

Dean wanted to laugh, he wanted to put an arm around Cas's shoulder and hoot with him. But this wasn't the time. And in all honesty, he was sure this wasn't going to go how he wanted. He was sure that after this nightmare was over and his dad showed up to take him and Sam away to the next hunt, he would never see Cas again. When this weekend first started he was okay with this. He accepted this. But after all this, after knowing the truth about Cas and surviving a monster attack with him… he didn't want to leave him. He wanted to stay by him and help him deal with the angle thing, or take him with him and go hunting. He has known for the longest time that he would never have the picket fence in the suburbs life and now that he knew about Cas he realized he was the same. He wanted Cas to become a doctor like he wanted but he had a feeling that wouldn't happen. Not with his mother and her plans. Not with the angles. Not with his supernatural powers. It just wasn't in the cards. Or maybe Dean was wrong, maybe he would defy it all. Tell the world to fuck off and go on to be the best damn doctor that changes the world.

Dean wanted that for him. He really did. He wanted something like that for his brother. Apple pie, wife and kids, great world changing job. Peace and happiness. All the things Dean could never have.

He wanted this for them, but…

He didn't want to be left behind.

He didn't want to be left alone.

Because in the end he would be. His dad would leave. Sam would. And he'd be lucky if he ever saw Cas again.

Alone in the end.

He knew this, and it scared him.

"Where do we start?" he asked instead glancing around at the trees. "Where would your brother go looking for this thing?"

"The last place we saw it was the cabin." Cas suggested, however he didn't even look in its direction. "Maybe we should start there."

"Sure your gonna be okay going back there?" Dean asked.

"We don't really have much else to go on." Cas shrugged then started the trek toward the cabin. "Lets go."

Sam and Dean traded looks then followed.

They were quiet the whole way, not really afraid of making noise- the faster the thing found them the faster they could get this over with- but they needed to listen for any signs of Michael.

The cabin was already in sight before they found any signs of life.

"AAAHH!"

"Michael!" Cas cried rushing past the cabin.

"Cas, wait damnit!" Dean roared, giving chase.

They followed the screams, and when those cut off the footprints in the snow.

"Michael!" Cas cried again as they finally came up on the boy.

He wasn't yet dead, but there wasn't really much time. His face was already cut with the bloody grin. Cas fell to his knees at the boys side, pulling him in his arms.

"Hang on." he whispered.

"Sam." Dean said tightly.

Sam said nothing just took up a century post opposite to Dean.

"Hang oh." Cas said again holding two fingers to his brother's forehead.

His eyes glowed gold and there was this hushed whispering sound filling the air. He did this for a while, growing more and more desperate in his whispers. Begging his brother to hang on, for his powers to work already. But in the end…

"Michael?" Cas whimpered as the boy went still. "No, no, I'm here. I'm healing you. Why isn't this working? Michael, don't leave. Please. I'm sorry. I'll listen to you from now on, just don't leave."

"Cas." Dean hushed placing a hand on his shoulder. "Cas, I'm sorry."

"Why didn't it work?" Cas wheezed. "Why couldn't I heal him?"

"I don't know." Dean murmured. "But Cas, we have to keep going. We have get the monster."

Cas shook his head looking back down at his brother, still shaking.

"I can't do it." He insisted. "I can't hold that thing in place. Not without Michael."

"You can." Dean assured. "You can and you will. And when you do we can put Michael, Lucifer and Gabriel to rest the proper way."

"Guys." Sam hissed. "Do you hear that?"

They paused, straining their ears and there it was.

The manic giggling.

"There!" Sam called firing off his shotgun to his left.

It only giggled more.

"Back to the lodge." Dean urged getting Cas to his feet. "Go, go, go!"

Around the cabin and down the path they ran at full speed back to the lodge. The snow crunched under their feet, the wind howled in their ears, and the giggling carved at their necks. Every fiber in Dean's body was telling him to run, which he didn't disagree with. Though his loyalty and heart forced him to hang back while the other stay in front of him. He was watching their backs and making sure they all made it back safe. Though there was a close call when he felt something swipe at his legs.

"Holy shit." he cried jumping in the air and back to running as soon as his feet hit the ground.

"Dean?" Sam called over his shoulder.

"I'm fine, keep going." Dean called over the giggles.

The lodge couldn't come into view soon enough. They kept going until they reached the gate, where the girls were waiting then stopped and faced the monster.

"Charlie now!" Sam hollard.

They felt when the statue was moved, there was a heaviness that suddenly weighed on them. Like the monsters evil presence was fully tangible now. It made them all stiffen.

Stiff wasn't good.

The giggling got closer until it was right on top of them.

"Cas now." Dean urged, but the boy was frozen. "Cas!"

"I can't." Cas shook his head eyes trained on the closing creature. "I'm not strong enough."

"Yes you are, Cas." Dean insisted. "One second, that's all we need. You can do this."

"I can't." Cas shook his head screwing his eyes tightly shut.

"Cas!"

"Dean, look out!" Sam cried.

Dean turned just in time to see the thing raise its claws, preparing to bring them down on his chest.

"NO!" Cas cried throwing out his hand.

His eyes began to glow and the air grew lighter with his holy power.

Everyone was still for a moment, waiting to see what happened.

"Hurry." Cas gritted, his out stretched hand shaking violently as the Mahaha struggled against his hold. "I can't hold it."

"Out of the way." Eileen urged pushing Dean aside and raised her machete bringing it down in one swift motion.

SQUELSH

THUD

They all stared at the head rolled in the snow, as the body went limp and collapsed at Eileen's feet.

Step one, complete.

"Light it up." Dean urged grabbing a gas can and helping Dorothy douse the thing.

With a flick of Sam's thumb, the math was lit and the blase started.

Mission complete.

"We… we did it." Charlie cheered from the doorway. "Boss cleared!"

"Thank god." Dorothy sighed slumping into the snow. "Thank god."

"Nice work Eileen." Sam smiled patting the girl on the shoulder.

"Cas?" Dean addressed, stepping up to the boy with a grateful smile. "You did it. You saved my life. It's all over now. You did it."

"I did." Cas breathed, he was pale and shining with prespuration from his efforts. "I didn't think I could."

"But you did." Dean smiled. "I knew you could."

"I did it." Cas said again, which seemed to be the last leg he had. Slowly, he closed his eyes and let his head fall forward into Dean's chest. "It's over."

"Yeah." Dean smiled, wrapping an arm around the boy. "It's over."

"Now we just have to call Bobby and Dad." Sam said, his shoulders sagging in relief only to tense again. "Unless you think she's gonna come, Cas."

Cas's own euphoric relief faltered at the mention of their next problem.

"Three of her children have been murdered." he said. "If she cares for the wellbeing of heaven, she will hone in on their souls and come."

"Indeed."

They all jumped looking over Dean and Cas's shoulders seeing a tall slim, smartly dressed woman with a tight bun at the back of her head. Her blue eyes blazed at them all, an unbridled fury radiating off her like an aura. They all backed up closer to the lodge, all except Castiel.

"Naomi." Cas addressed with a nod of his head.

"Castiel." she griped. "What happened?"

"We were attacked." Cas said simply. "This demon called a Mahaha was residing upon this mountain. We weren't aware."

She noticeably stiffened, glancing at the burning corpse.

"An ancient demon, one that precedes the devil's first demon." she murmured.

"Your saying that this thing is older than angels?" Dean asked much to Cas's charchin.

"No, angels are melania, but this monstrous creature has been on this Earth far before the first demon. Where there is man and ice, this creature will most likely be." She sighed. "I warned that fool that you children were not safe here. That you should have been put into my care as soon as you were born. But he insisted that you all know what it was to be human, so you would know how best to protect them. I agreed at first, but now, three of my sons are dead."

"I'm sorry." Cas said looking away.

"You should be." Naomi snarled. "You were to look after your siblings, help them along their path. You failed to do even the simplest thing."

"I can not control the actions of my siblings." Cas gritted. "They were all headstrong and willful. I could not tell them what to do."

"You could have tried." Naomi bellowed. "And now thanks to the incompetence of both you and your ridiculous father, my most powerful children are all dead. They were marked to follow their name sakes. Arch-angles in the making. And now, now they are nothing. And it's all because of you."

"Hey." Dean growled pulling Cas behind him. "You don't get to talk to him like that."

"And Who are you?" she cocked her head. "A hairless ape with no sense."

"I'm Dean Winchester." Dean smirked. "I'm a hunter, and I'm one of the people that helped your son take out this monster."

"Seeking help from monkeys now." Naomi turned to Cas. "It seems my suspicion was accurate after all. The time has come."

"What are you talking about?" Cas demanded.

"It is time for me to collect my children and take them someplace safe, someplace where they can begin their training."

"I won't let you do that." Cas snarled. "You can't do this to us."

"As your mother I can do whatever I want with you."

"Yeah except you won't get the chance to take Cas or any of the others." Dean told her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she snorted.

"I means we knew you were coming, bitch." Dean smirked looking over his shoulder at his brother. "Sam now!"

Looking over to the other Winchester, Naomi could see that his hand was bleeding and there was a bloody sigil on the pillur of the gate.

"NO!" she cried reaching for Cas, but it was too late.

Sam slammed his hand against the sigil and a bright light illuminated the angel making her scream before she suddenly vanished.

They gave it a minute, waiting to see if it really worked.

"Was that it?" Dean asked really hoping he hadn't just called a celestial being bitch only to find out their spell didn't really work.

"Yes." Cas nodded. "She won't be able to set foot on this property, and the sigil tattoos my father made us get will keep myself and my siblings shielded from her. She won't be able to find us."

"Good." Dean sighed.

"Still, she knows where we live, I best call my father and let him know he should leave. Take my brother and sister and go. Maybe get him to tell Anna and Hanna as well."

"Hey." Dean called reaching for Cas's shoulder. "You okay."

"No." Cas shook his head. "My life as I know it is over, I have no idea what I'm going to do. If I should try to find my siblings and father after they leave or if I should just run off on my own. My brothers are dead and my mother is hunting us. I'm extremely far from okay."

"Cas…" Dean murmured. "We'll figure this out."

Cas locked eyes with Dean, kept his gaze, pulling something from him. Dean wasn't sure what it was, but he let Cas take whatever he needed. And in that moment he made up his mind.

Cas would be coming with him and his brother.

He would help him find his way in this world. Help fight off all the angels and defy destiny. He would watch out for him, just like he did with Sammy.

Cas would be with him from this moment on.

"I have to go call my father." Cas murmured.

"Yeah. same." Dean nodded following the boy and everyone else back inside.

Charlie and Dorothy had pulled out the whiskey and were downing shots, most likely trying to drink away what was sure to be years of trauma. Sam and Eileen where off in the corner. Sam was on his cell, they already agreed that Sam would call Crystal for Eileen. Cas went off upstairs. Dean assumed to his room to call his dad, or to grieve for the short moment they had.

Now it was Dean's turn.

He dialed John Winchester's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Dean." John snapped first thing. "Where the hell are you, where is your brother. I got to the hotel and you were both gone. Where are you."

"Dad," Dean took a steadying breath. "I'm up the mountain, some things happened and… Dad I need you to come up here. You need to see this, and… we have to talk about something."

"Sam, your father is waiting for us, we need to go." Cas called from the hotel room doorway.

"I know, I just can't find my gun." Sam called over his shoulder digging through his duffle.

Cas rolled his eyes stalking over to the dresser and pulling the drawer.

"Right here." Cas told him lifting the pistol for him to see.

"Oh, thanks." Sam smiled taking it. "I forgot I put it there."

"Probably because you where on the phone with Eileen while you were unpacking." Cas chuckled. "C'mon, Dean is already in the car, lets go."

Sam nodded and followed the nephilim out the door.

Three months had passed since that snowy blood-bath. That night Dean had tried to convince John to let them bring Cas, that didn't take. So Dean made him a deal, he and Sam would follow their Dad on any hunt, but they would pay for the room, and their own food and such. As long as they could bring Cas, and as long as John didn't try to kill him. He agreed. Thankfully.

So in those three months the boys had taken care of Cas. Helped him through the grieving. Saving people and hunting things seem to help a little. But there were still nights where Cas would wake with a start and have to take a minute in the bathroom to compose himself. The brothers understood and let him take all the time he needed. They looked out for him.

"Hey." Dean called from his spot against the impala- John ended up buying a big ass truck from Bobby and giving the car to Dean. "All ready?"

"Yeah." Castiel nodded, smiling widely at Dean taking his hand.

They had grown closer, going as far as to share a bed- mostly to save money on the room and so they don't have to fight over who gets to sleep in a bed vs a cot. But they were still taking it slow. They spent nearly every second of the day together so they knew they had time.

"So we can get going?" Dean directed this at Sam.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Good, cause dad is waiting." Dean sighed. "And you know how he gets."

"Grouchy." Sam supplied.

Dean shot him a look but didn't argue.

"Let's go." Dean told them heading for the trunk.

Cas went to claim his spot in the passenger seat and study the map they needed. Sam followed Dean to the trunk and started helping him gather all the weapons and materials they would need.

"I think we got everything." Dean nodded satisfied with their stash. "Let's go find dad."

"Yeah." Sam said closing the secret compartment and grabbing the hood. "We got work to do."

**I'll be back next month with another story. Thanks to my life being as crazy as it is with work and such I can only work on one story per month. Which might not be a bad thing.**  
**Let me know what you think.**  
**Thank you so much for giving this a read.**  
**I'll see you in the next story.**


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